Irakli Okruashvili, ex-defense minister, is a victim of politically motivated persecution by the Georgian authorities and should not be extradited to Georgia, Eka Beselia, a lawyer and activist from Okruashvili’s party - Movement for United Georgia - said on November 30.

Okruashvili, who is charged by the Georgian General Prosecutor’s Office with large-scale bribery through extortion, money laundering and negligence while serving as minister, was arrested in Berlin upon the request of Georgian law enforcement agencies on November 27. Georgia has 40 days to deliver full documentation on the case, based on which the German courts determine whether he is extradited or not.

“We appeal to the international community, international organizations and specifically the German authorities, and we ask you to use all legal means at your disposal not to allow Irakli Okruashvili’s extradition to Georgia,” Beselia said in a written statement on behalf of the Movement for United Georgia party. “His extradition to a country where a politically repressive regime is in power is absolutely unacceptable, as his life will be at risk.”

Georgian police arrested Okruashvili on September 27. A court sent him to two months' pre-trial detention pending investigation. Okruashvili, however, was released on a GEL 10 million bail on October 9 after retracting his accusations against then-President Mikheil Saakashvili and pleading guilty to the charges levelled against him.

On November 1 Okruashvili, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office, was allowed to travel to Germany “for medical treatment.” Okruashvili, however, subsequently alleged that he had been forced onto the plane and sent to Germany against his will. He also said that he had been forced to retract his earlier accusations and plead guilty.

Levan Duchidze, the Georgian ambassador to Germany, told Rustavi 2 TV on November 29 that Okruashvili had requested political asylum in Germany on November 1, shortly after arriving in the country. Duchidze, however, said that the German authorities had refused on the grounds that Okruashvili had no German visa. Okruashvili arrived in Germany on a visa issued by the French embassy in Tbilisi.